Maryland Democratic Party Explained

Maryland Democratic Party
Abbreviation:MDDEM
Headquarters:Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Chairperson:Kenneth Ulman
Leader1 Title:Governor
Leader1 Name:Wes Moore
Leader2 Title:Lieutenant Governor
Leader2 Name:Aruna Miller
Leader3 Title:President of the Senate
Leader3 Name:Bill Ferguson
Leader4 Title:Senate Majority Leader
Leader4 Name:Nancy J. King
Leader5 Title:House Majority Leader
Leader5 Name:David Moon
Spokesperson:Adrienne Jones
Membership Year:2021
Membership: 2,284,097[1]
Ideology:Modern liberalism
National:Democratic Party
Seats1 Title:Senate
Seats1:
Seats2 Title:House of Delegates
Seats2:
Seats3 Title:U.S. Senate
(Maryland seats)
Seats3:
Seats4 Title:U.S. House of Representatives
(Maryland seats)
Seats4:
Seats5 Title:Statewide Officers
Seats5:
Seats6 Title:County Executives
Seats6:
Seats8 Title:Baltimore City Council
Seats8:
Seats9 Title:Montgomery County Council
Seats9:
Website:mddems.org
Country:U.S.

The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis.[2] The current acting state party chair is Kenneth Ulman. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one of Maryland's eight U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, all statewide executive offices and supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.

History

The Maryland Democratic Party is among the oldest continuously existing political organizations in the world. On May 21, 1827, a meeting of Andrew Jackson supporters organized a political structure in the state designed to help Jackson win the Presidency after he was denied victory in the 1824 United States presidential election despite winning the popular vote. The first meeting of the Democratic (Jackson) Central Committee was held at the Atheneum in Baltimore, located on the southwest corner of St. Paul and Lexington streets.

Twelve delegates from each county and six delegates from Baltimore were invited to attend. The label "Central Committee" was adopted along with a "Committee of Correspondence" which functioned like the present Executive Committee. Thomas M. Forman, Cecil County, was chosen to preside with William M. Beall, Frederick County, appointed Secretary and John S. Brooke, Prince George's County, appointed as Assistant Secretary. In addition to its founding, the Maryland Democratic Party hosted the first six Democratic National Conventions from 1832 to 1852 held in Baltimore. On May 31, 1838, Maryland Democrats gathered in a state party convention to nominate William Grason for Governor. He became the first popularly elected Governor in Maryland with the help of central committees throughout the state.

After the ratification of the Suffrage Amendment in 1920, the Democratic State Central Committee added an equal number of women to its membership, a practice still embodied in National Party Rules and in the elections for Cecil County Democratic State Central Committee.[3]

The first six Democratic National Conventions were held in Baltimore, for a total of nine to date.

Historically the Democratic Party has been the dominant party in Maryland politics. Since the 1838 Maryland gubernatorial election, the first gubernatorial election in Maryland in which the governor was elected by direct popular vote, 28 Maryland Governors have been Democrats.[4] Since the 1895 Maryland Comptroller election, the first Comptroller election in Maryland in which the Comptroller was elected by direct popular vote, 17 Maryland Comptrollers have been Democrats.[5] Since the 1895 Maryland Attorney General election, the first Attorney General election in Maryland in which the Attorney General was elected by direct popular vote, 23 Attorneys General have been Democrats.[6] The party has held continuous control of the Maryland General Assembly since 1920, the longest currently running streak of control by a single party of a state legislature in the United States.

Elected officials

Members of Congress

Democrats comprise nine of Maryland's ten-member Congressional delegation:[7]

U.S. Senate

Since 1987, Democrats have controlled both of Maryland's seats in the U.S. Senate:

U.S. House of Representatives

Democrats hold seven of the eight seats Maryland is apportioned in the U.S. House following the 2000 census:

!District!Member!Photo
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th

Statewide officeholders

Beginning in January 2023, Democrats control all four statewide offices:

Wes Moore

Aruna Miller

Anthony Brown

Brooke Lierman

County government

Until 2010, the Democratic Party of Maryland held majority power at the County level. As of 2018 the Democrats only hold control in ten out of 23 Maryland's county governments in addition to Baltimore.

Legislative leadership

Mayors

Electoral performance

Presidential

Maryland Democratic Party presidential election results!Election!Presidential ticket!Votes!Vote %!Electoral votes!Result
1960John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson565,80853.61%
1964Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey730,91265.47%
1968Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie538,31043.59%
1972George McGovern/Sargent Shriver505,78137.36%
1976Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale759,61253.04%
1980Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale726,16147.12%
1984Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro787,93547.02%
1988Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen826,30448.20%
1992Bill Clinton/Al Gore988,57149.80%
1996Bill Clinton/Al Gore966,20754.25%
2000Al Gore/Joe Lieberman1,145,78256.57%
2004John Kerry/John Edwards1,334,49355.91%
2008Barack Obama/Joe Biden1,629,46761.92%
2012Barack Obama/Joe Biden1,677,84461.97%
2016Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine1,677,92860.33%
2020Joe Biden/Kamala Harris1,985,02365.36%

Party organization

Party chairs (1988–present)

Party officers

[14]

Party staff

Affiliated groups

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Winger . Richard . March 2021 Ballot Access News Print Edition . March 15, 2021 . Ballot Access News.
  2. Web site: Contact . Maryland Democratic Party . May 13, 2010 . June 21, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100621041327/http://www.mddems.org/contact.
  3. Web site: Willis . John T. . A Brief History of the Maryland Democratic Party . Maryland Democratic Party . https://web.archive.org/web/20150919010528/http://www.mddems.org/your-party . September 19, 2015.
  4. Web site: Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page . 2022-11-08 . www.ourcampaigns.com.
  5. Web site: Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page . 2023-01-18 . www.ourcampaigns.com.
  6. Web site: Our Campaigns - Container Detail Page . 2023-01-18 . www.ourcampaigns.com.
  7. Web site: Directory of Representatives House.gov . United States House of Representatives.
  8. News: Kurtz . Josh . Ulman overwhelmingly wins election to be new Democratic state chair . November 18, 2023 . . November 18, 2023.
  9. News: Kurtz . Josh . September 27, 2023 . Sears . Bryan P. . Personnel news: State Dem chair stepping down, Patrick Hogan leaving state service to join Patrick Hogan at lobbying firm . September 27, 2023. Maryland Matters.
  10. News: Wood . Pamela . Maryland Democrats turn to prior leader, Yvette Lewis, to guide party through to 2022 elections . December 7, 2019 . . December 7, 2019.
  11. News: Maryland Democrats elect Maya Rockeymoore Cummings as state party chair. Wiggins. Ovetta. December 1, 2018. The Washington Post. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190111061218/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/maryland-democrats-elect-maya-rockeymoore-cummings-as-its-new-chairwoman/2018/12/01/c2955e64-f406-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html. January 11, 2019. January 11, 2019.
  12. News: Turque. Bill. Kathleen Matthews elected Maryland Democratic Party chair. May 22, 2017. The Washington Post. May 6, 2017.
  13. Web site: Chairs . Maryland Democratic Party . https://web.archive.org/web/20150919010528/http://www.mddems.org/your-party . September 19, 2015.
  14. News: Kurtz . Josh . Political notes: Long list of applicants for Luedtke's seat, plus Md. Dems' new leadership team and a new lobbying hire . December 24, 2022 . . December 19, 2022.
  15. News: Sears . Bryan P. . Kurtz . Josh . Political notes: House of Delegates awards 3, state Dems get new leaders, powerful ex-senator dies . March 21, 2024 . . March 21, 2024.
  16. https://mddems.org/your-party/party-leadership/party-staff/